Venetian blind



April 1943- l. R. BRODIE I 2,316,398

VENETIAN BLIND Filed Oct 11, 1941 [NI/E N TOR Isidore R. Br

Patented Apr. 13, 1943 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE VENETIAN BLIND Isidore R. Brodie, New Britain, Conn.

Application October 11, 1941, Serial No. 414,636

8 Claims.

My invention relates to Venetian blinds.

It has among its objects to provide an improved structure for such blinds and, more particularly, to provide an improved supporting structure therefor of the type adapted both to support the headrail cairying the slats and oper-- ating mechanism, and also to carry a so-called facia board enclosing said headrail and the operating mechanism thereon. A further object of my invention is to provide an improved supporting bracket for supporting both the headrail of the blind and such a facia board. Other objects of my invention are to provide such an improved bracket wherlein, while providing a strong support for the headrail and enabling the latter to be readily inserted in the desired operative position thereon, it is also made possible to insert the facia board with facility from the bottom and to secure the same readily and certainly in position with marked facility, all while producing an improved construction which is quickly installed and quickly removed, and presents an improved and attractive appearance, while also being simple and inexpensive to manufacture and requiring only readily available materials and a minimum of metal. These and other objects and advantages of my improvements will, however, hereinafter more fully appear.

In the accompanying drawing, I have shown for purposes of illustration one embodiment which my invention may assume in practice.

In this drawing:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a window equipped with my improvement, one end of the facia board being broken away to facilitate illustration;

Fig. 2 is a perspective View of the end supports in operative position with the headrail supported thereon, the blind operating mechanism being omitted and the facia board being shown spaced beneath the supports ready to be inserted therein from below, while both the headrail and facia board are also broken away to facilitate illustration;

Fig. 3 is a detail perspective view of one of the supporting bracket members;

Fig. 4 is a bottom plan view of the latter, and

Fig. 5 is a section on line 5-5 of Figure 3.

In this illustrative construction, I have shown spaced brackets, generally indicated at l, attached at opposite sides of a window frame 2 and supporting a headrail 3 of a Venetian blind 4 while also supporting a decorative facia board 5; the brackets I being of an improved construction and cooperating in an improved manner with the remainder of the structure, as hereinafter described.

Referring more particularly to Figure 3, it will be noted that each bracket I comprises athin block of suitable material, as, for example, Wood, of generally flat rectangular shape and preferably slightly higher than it is wide. As shown, this block is provided with a transverse slot 6 between the top and bottom thereof and in the inner face thereof, herein preferably substantially midway between the top and bottom of the block. A shelf or supporting member 1 is also seated in this slot 6 and attached therein in any suitable manner, as, for example, by gluing, brads, or both, while projecting inwardly therefrom in such manner as to provide a horizontal supporting surface 8 for the ends of the rail 3. I-Ierein, each shelf member 1 is disposed flush with the rear face of the block I while the front end of the shelf treminates short of the front end of the slot 6. Above and below this shelf and preferably nearer the rear edge of the block, suitable countersunk recesses 9 are also provided for attaching the block in the window frame; this countersunk construction enabling the rail 3 to be slid into position from the front while supported on the surfaces 8 without striking any obstruction, while also eliminating any need for objectionable projections on the opposite or outer face of the block such as would be necessary if a metal bracket were countersunk for this purpose. In order to establish a rearward limit for the rail 3, an abutment member If), herein in the form of a fiat and rigid metal clip, is suitably connected to the rear wall of the block, as, for example, rigidly by a nail H.

Adjacent the front edge of the block I, a vertical slot I2 is provided on the inner face of each block across the end of the slot 6. This slot is of a width adapted to receive the end of the facia board 5, and, it will be noted, extends vertically through the lower edge of the block in such manner as thereby to enable the facia board to be readily inserted therein from below. As shown, a clip l3, similar to the clip [0, but in this case movable about a nail M as a pivot and frictionally held in any position of adjustment, is also attached to the bottom edge of the block 1 adjacent the lower end of this slot i2. Thus,

it will be evident that this clip l3 may be swung into the dotted line position shown in Figure 3 to permit the free entry of the end of the facia board 5 into the slot I2 and then, after the insertion of the facia board, swung back into the full line position illustrated in Figure 3 to underlie and support that board securely in position. Attention is also directed to the rounded surface :5 formed on the outer vertical edge of the block I, and to the fact that the front ends of the blocks l, which are thus decoratively formed, cooperate with the facia board 5 completely to enclose the operating mechanis n, which is, as usual, carried on the rail In the use of my improved construction, the members I are first connected in the window frame by suitable nails or screws (not shown) inserted in the apertures 9. Then, the headrail 3 with the usual blind structure thereon is slipped into place over the shelves 1 and the upper supporting surfaces 8 thereon until the rear edg of the headrail strikes the abutments if]. Thereafter, with the clips E3 in their open position, the facia board 5 is inserted from below, as shown in Figure 2, until its lower edge is above the clips 43, and these clips are then swung about their pivots into their supporting position under the ends of the facia board. Obviously, when remova1 is desired, the facia board and headrail may also be readily removed.

As a result of my improved construction, it is made possible to provide an exceedingly strong installation free from the danger of bending usual heretofore where light metal has been used. Further, all danger of accidental release of the facia board is effectually prevented by the clips !3 which underlie and positively hold the facia board in place while eliminating all need for catches or the like, such as heretofore used on pivoted holding members for the facia board and which have heretof re been capable of accidentally opening and permitting the board to fall. Attention is also directed to the strength arising from the dado slotted connection provided between the block 1 and the shelf 7 which, while enabling both of these elements to be made of wood, also makes it possible for the grain of the shelf 1 to be disposed transversely to the grain of the block, in such manner as, with the grooved connection provided, to produce an even stronger construction than would be possible if the two parts were either formed of the same block, or separate and merely nailed together. Due to the provision of the vertical slots 2 for the ends of the facia board and the cooperating clips i3, it, is also made possible securely to support the facia board, despite slight variations in length thereof, and without such variations showing or producing an unstable structure, so long as the board is of sufiicient length to enter even slightly within these slots. Attention is also directed to the attractive appearance made possible with the end brackets and the facia board both formed of wood, as compared with the previous wood and metal combinations heretofore used; the use of wood for the supports also eliminating the rust,- ing and scratching heretofore experienced when using metal brackets. It will also be evident that the wood construction makes it possible to produce the supports in quantity very inexpensively and expeditiously, while minimizing need for the use of metal. Attention is also directed to, the fact that, if desired, the supports of my improved construction may be formed of plastic composition. These and other advantages of my improvements will, however, be clearly appar nt. to those skilled in the art.

While I have herein specifically dos ribed one embodiment which my invention may assume in practice, it will be understood that this form has.

been shown for purposes of illustration, and that the invention may be modified and embodied in other forms without departing from its spirit or the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a Venetian blind structure including a headrail and a facia board, end supports at opposite ends of said headrail and facia board, shelves on the inner faces of said supports, underlying and supporting the ends of said headrail, stationary slotted portions on the fronts of said supports having vertical facia board receiving slots in the adjacent faces thereof spaced from the front edges of said portions and having open bottoms to receive said facia board from below, and means on said end supports and movable relative to said slots for positioning said facia board in said slots.

2. In a Venetian blind structure including a headrail and a facia board, supporting blocks at opposite ends of said headrail and facia board, shelves on the inner faces of said blocks underlying and supporting the ends of said headrail, slotted portions on the fronts of said blocks having vertical slots in the adjacent faces thereof spaced from the front edges of said portions and also having open bottoms to receive said facia board from below, inwardly projecting abutment members on said blocks disposed in the path of said rail above said shelves, and facia board supporting members carried on said blocks and movable into and out of facia board suppcring position when said board is disposed in said slots.

3. A supporting bracket for Venetian blinds including a rigid bracket member having on the inner face thereof an horizontal shelf between the bottom and top thereof and also having a stationary vertical facia board receiving slot open at the bottom and formed in said rigid bracket member adjacent the front edge of said member.

4. A supporting bracket for Venetian blinds including a bracket member having on the inner face thereof an horizontal shelf between the bottom and top thereof and also having a stationary vertical facia board receiving slot open at the bottom and adjacent the front edge of said bracket member, and means on said bracket member and movable relative to said slot for engaging and positioning in said stationary slot, the extremity of a facia board disposed in said slot.

5. A supporting bracket for Venetian blinds including a bracket member having on the inner face thereof an horizontal shelf between the bottom and top thereof and also having a ver 'cal slot open at the bottom and adjacent the front edge of said bracket member, said bracket member also having a slot in its inner face transversely disposed relative to said vertical slot, and said shelf comprising a shelf member seated in said transverse slot and projecting inwardly therefrom.

6. A Venetian blind supporting bracket as claimed in claim 4 and also having said bracket member comprising a block and also having abutment means above saidv shelf comprising a clip carried by and projecting inwardly from the rear edge of said block into the path of a headrail moving inward over said shelf.

7. A Venetian blind supporting bracket including a bracket member having on the inner face thereof an horizontal shelf between the 10 said vertical slot.

inner face between the bottom and top thereof and also having a vertical slot open at the bot tom and adjacent the front edge of said block, a shelf member seated in said horizontal slot and projecting inwardly therefrom, an abutment member projecting above said shelf member and carried on the rear end of said block, and a pivoted clip carried on the bottom of said block and movable about its pivot under the bottom of ISIDORE R. BRODIE. 

